Heart's Inferno
by WittyTeach
Summary: "Love, which absolves no one beloved from loving, seized me so strongly with his charm that, as you see, it has not left me yet." - Dante's Inferno Bella is proud to be Edward's wife, but sometimes she wishes she wasn't the wife a fireman.
1. Chapter 1

Red flashing lights illuminated the living room of the Cullen house. The large bay windows, which usually allowed the bright beams of the sun into the room while the family congregated, now admitted lights that were as harsh as the news the driver was to deliver to the family inside.

Bella was unaware of the lights and the Chaplin and chief walking up the driveway. For a few blissful minutes, Bella was just a wife and mother cleaning up the kitchen while her daughter slept in the next room.

The knock on the door jolted Bella to a reality she has hoped to never experience, but that was always a possibility as a fireman's wife.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: This story will go back and forth between present day and the past.

"For she had eyes and chose me." - _Othello_

His smile. His intelligence. His charm. Those are the three things that Bella Swan was immediately attracted to when she met Edward Cullen one afternoon at a co-worker's barbecue. She never expected to meet anyone. Heck, she almost decided not to come because she didn't know anybody and wasn't exactly socially adept, but Angela had begged her and so she did. Angela had been so welcoming and helpful to her as she got used to the new job that she felt it was rude not to come.

In the end, she had made the right choice.

While Angela and Bella had made small talk at work, she never knew that Ben, Angela's husband, was a firefighter. So she was shocked to show up on that humid afternoon to several men hanging out, drinking beers, grilling various meats, and with very few women in attendance. When Angela spotted her, she ran up and hugged Bella.

"I'm so glad you came," Angela said while hugging Bella.

"Well thanks for inviting me. I brought some mac and cheese." Bella said while holding up a small pan of the food.

"That wont be enough for this crowd, but it will be gone in seconds." Angela laughed. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Ben is a firefighter and so he invited over a couple of his buddies who are off duty. They are like teenage boys: they have endless stomachs and will eat anything. Food around here doesn't last long and they always like trying something new, so we better hide this before the boys discover it and us ladies don't get any."

Angela smiled and guided Bella into the little kitchen where they stuck the mac and cheese in the oven to stay warm.

"Let me introduce you to some of our friends," Angela said grabbing her hand and pulling her back outside. She proceeded to introduce her to a couple of people including a guy named Mike and his girlfriend Jessica, another couple Tyler and Lauren, and some more guys from the crew before introducing her to Lieutenant Edward Cullen.

Edward quickly smiled when being introduced to Bella. His smile reminded Bella of a quote from one her favorite novels: "It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced-or seemed to face-the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor." And just as Nick Calloway was instantly drawn to Jay Gatsby at that circus of a party on the Long Island Sound, Bella was drawn to Edward at a less formal and calmer gathering.

It was a smile that made her want to know more.

Her eyes, her spirit, her intelligence. Those are the three things that Edward Cullen was immediately attracted to when he met Bella Swan at Angela and Ben's barbecue. He never thought he would understand what Peter Gabriel sang about, but then he met her and he knew.

"Hello Bella, nice to meet you," Edward said, as he held out his hand to Bella.

Gracefully, Bella returned the shake, but then stumbled over her words of introduction. She was completely in awe of the man that stood in front of her.

"How do you know Angela?" Edward asked, as Bella stood dumbfounded. Thankfully the question broke her from her stupor and she was able to carry on with the conversation as a normal human being.

"Sorry. I'm not very good at social interactions outside of work. I um work with Angela at the library. I guess she took pity on me and invited me here today."

"Well knowing Angela, she probably invited you because she likes you and wants to take you under her wing. Angela is like the mother hen to all of us guys. She is the one wife that always brings over food or makes sure our clothes are clean and that we aren't living like a bunch of bachelors at the station. But I have also found she only does this for people she finds worthy of her care. So I'd say you're probably a pretty good person. So what do you do at the library?" He asked.

"I'm a librarian with a focus on Arts and Humanities. So I work the reference desk and teach classes on pretty much how to use the library with a maximum benefit."

"Sounds fun." Edward said with that smile.

"I doubt it, but I enjoy it. I mean compared to saving people, my job is downright dull." She said joking.

"Yeah I can't say I would enjoy researching and reading all day, but then again the best part of my job is always moving. I enjoy staying active. I get restless when I have to sit down and do too much paperwork."

"So what's your job at the station?" Bella asked curious.

"Well I'm Lieutenant. So I manage the scenes we're called to, create the shift schedules, keep up with work logs, and essentially supervise all the guys and make sure they do what they're supposed to do. Most of my job is adult babysitter and telling guys to clean up after themselves. It's pretty interesting and never dull."

"How long have you been a firefighter?"

"Well I started with a junior cadet program when I was 16 and then went into EMT training when I graduated high school, then after years of training and testing, I became a firefighter and have been working as a firefighter for about 10 years, but I've only been lieutenant for two years. What about you?"

"Well I've been a librarian for about 3 years. I graduated with my Master's from University of Washington and then I decided to take a job at a community college near my hometown and then a position at North Seattle opened up and I decided to move back here."

The conversation continued to flow easily and with each minute that passed, Bella became more and more entranced by Edward and he by her. As the sun was setting, Bella decided it was time to leave.

"Can I have your number?" Edward asked her. There was no way he was going to let this beautiful, intelligent woman walk away without another chance of seeing her.

So with the sun setting, Bella and Edward exchanged numbers with promises for future plans.

The following week, they met for their first date. It was simple, like the two people on the date; Dinner, desert, coffee to go, and a walk along the waterfront.

With each date, they learned something new about each other like that Edward joined the department because his dad was a station captain and him and his brother Emmett always enjoyed spending time with their dad at the station, helping out, and hanging with the guys. He said he was always proud of what his father did and knew that he wanted to join.

Bella shared stories of her mom bringing her to the police station before school everyday to say good morning to her dad. She told Edward about the fear that overtook her some nights when he would have overnight shifts and she shared with him the fear that one day her dad wouldn't come home. Despite her fear, she was proud of her dad and couldn't imagine him doing anything else, but it never motivated her to follow in his footsteps. She liked to live in the fictional drama of books, not reality.

Four months after their first date, they started to talk about a future together.

Three months after that Edward asked Bella to move in with him.

And ten months to the day after they met, Edward asked Bella to be his bride and say I do.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I want to thank Tarbecca for recommending this story at A Different Forest! I never expected this story to be received like this and I appreciate all of the positive responses. I do want to let everyone know that I don't have a regular update schedule planned and I'm sorry if it may take time to update. Also, I just got back from out of the country so that was a big part of my problem in updating this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

When Emmett first joined the fire department, he never expected to work with his brother. In fact, he abhorred the idea. He had already spent 18 years living and going to school with his brother and didn't look forward to living in close quarters with him for another long stretch of time. He also didn't want to add any more problems that may arise from working together to their already long list of issues, including the one over Edward's reaction to Emmett joining the service.

When they were growing up, Emmett was always joking around, the family clown, and could never take anything seriously, so it was a surprise to everyone in the family when he announced he would be joining the fire service. Edward especially. Despite being the younger brother, Edward was always more serious and mature than his brother. In fact when Emmett made his surprising announcement at dinner, Edward choked. Edward was the one who had always dreamed of following in his dad's footsteps and had taken every step imaginable even as a teenager to guarantee his position at the station and training when he was 18.

"You're kidding me right?" Edward asked exasperated.

"No. I've decided to do this." Emmett said with pride because he was proud of himself. He was finally going to settle down and take something seriously. He had planned to devote himself to this newfound calling and he couldn't understand why Edward seemed to be mad about this.

"You never wanted this. You've never even talked about it, let alone worked your ass off for it like I have." Edward screamed.

"Edward, watch your mouth." Their mother fussed.

"Well now I have and I'm going to be a damn good firefighter. Why can't you be proud?"

"Because you're a joke. And your going to make what dad does and what I dream of doing, look like a joke."

Emmett became enraged by his brother's words. He shoved his chair back and stalked over to his brother before lifting Edward out of his chair, ready to swing at him.

"See you can't even control your temper. You're such a child." Edward laughed.

With that, Emmett pulled back his arm and landed a solid punch to his brother's eye.

He couldn't hear his mother yelling at him for punching his kid brother. He couldn't hear his dad chastising him for getting violent at the dinner table and he couldn't hear Alice crying as she watched her two heroes fight.

All he could hear was how he was a joke.

It had hurt. Those simple words tore Emmett apart and wrecked havoc on his confidence. It was the most painful thing he had ever heard and he never expected those words to come from his brother's mouth. Because the thing was, Emmett wanted Edward to be proud of him. He wanted his brother and parents' approval and he really thought his determination to become a firefighter would be what changed their minds about him.

Eventually they would change their minds. Later that week, his brother apologized for being a brat and self-centered. And later that night, his dad came up to his room, hugged him, and told him how he was proud of Emmett's choice.

And on the day of his graduation from training, all four members of his family were there clapping and telling him how proud they all were.

The best day though would be the day Edward graduated from training. On that day, Edward came up to him, hugged him, and told Emmett that he had been an inspiration and that he was thankful for his encouragement. It was the moment Emmett had been waiting for and he was filled with so much joy that he began to cry. Later, Edward would joke with him about his tears of joy, but in that moment both brothers held to each other and appreciated their moment of connection.

So needless to say, Emmett was not excited or filled with joy over sharing a station with Edward.

Surprisingly though, he grew to love working with Edward. They often worked separate shifts, but about once a month, they would work together. Their relationship grew beyond sibling rivalry to real appreciation and admiration of each other. It was what allowed them to work toward fixing their problems.

Emmett wouldn't recommend this to every sibling who entered the fire department or police force. He had even seen what working with your loved ones could do to your relationship in this line of work. It could tear you apart, destroy your relationship, and even cause slipups, which could lead to deadly mistakes.

There is a lot more stress from knowing the real danger your sibling will face everyday and not the perceived reality those in your lives or the public imagine. Its hard to watch your loved one go into a burning building and place themselves at risk and not want to tell them to stop or run after them. In fact, it wasn't until Edward joined the department that he finally understood how his father must have felt when Emmett and Edward told him they would be following in his footsteps.

But for some reason it worked for them, until that night.

Emmett picked up Edward on his way to the station. Kissed his beautiful niece, joked with Bella, and then watched as his little brother said "see you later" to his wife. The couple never said goodbye when Edward left for his shifts.

She would then hug Emmett and tell him to "keep her man safe" and for both "to come home."

The brothers talked about baseball and kids on their way to the station. Meaningless things. Mundane topics. It was all so ordinary. Looking back on those moments, Emmett wished he instead had told Edward how much he loved him or what he meant to Emmett. But instead, they had insignificant conversations on what would be the most significant day of both of their lives.

Ben greeted them when they arrived and informed them that Angela had sent over lasagna for dinner. The two men quickly dropped their stuff next to their bunks and rushed to the kitchen for one of the station's favorites.

At about 7 o'clock, the alarm went off. The loud bell mixed with the sound of the dispatcher relaying information about the two-alarm office building fire filled the station. The sounds of men putting on protective gear, loading up equipment, and slamming doors would also quickly fill the station. But once the red engines with their noisy occupants rolled out on the street, the station would instead be filled with an eerie silence that made it seem as if all the action of a few minutes before had never occurred.

When they arrived to the scene, the fire was already out of control. There were reports that several employees were still inside.

Emmett watched with pride as his brother morphed into Lt. Edward Cullen and started assigning jobs for each person at the station. He was assigned to the hose, while Edward led the search of the building for any civilians.

Minutes passed as Emmett focused on his task. Aim the hose, put the fire out, and protect his brothers on the inside. The scene of a fire is always chaotic, but he was not distracted by the action surrounding him.

Despite his hard work, he still heard those dreaded words come across his radio.

"MAN DOWN!" Mike yelled over the radio.

All he heard after those words was the annoying and deafening static until the captain asked for the name of the man down, injuries, and location.

When the first syllables of the work lieutenant come across the radio, Emmett's stomach dropped. He became overwhelmed by the dread, fear, and horrific images of fallen firefighters of the past. He wanted to lie down his hose and rush after his brother, who he heard has fallen through the floor on the 3rd floor, but he can't. Despite the personal hell he was currently living through, he had a job and at the moment, the water propelled by the hose in his hands, may be saving his brother's life. Edward's location and injuries were unknown and there had been no answer from Edward on the radio.

With unrestrained determination, Emmett continued to hold tight and fight. He tuned out the radio and just focused on the task at hand.

He couldn't think about his brother, only the task at hand and how this one job was helping his brother.


End file.
